·2 Cor. 2:14 “Now thanks be to God who always causes
us to triumph in Christ Jesus and make manifest the savour of His Knowledge by
us in every place.”

(i)Always causes us to triumph = King: ruling, having
dominion in every place.

(ii)Manifest the savour of Christ = Priest:
carry the presence of God into every place.

Role of Priest in the Old Testament

(i)Offer up sacrifices to God

(ii)Carry the ark of the Covenant – presence
of God

2.What is the Ark?

Heb.
9:2-5 “…the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold in which were
the golden pot of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the
covenant, above it were the cherubim of glory over-shadowing the mercy seat.”

Exodus
25:10 – 22 The ark of the covenant = the place of meeting with God.

·v22 I will meet
with you and commune with you.

·The ark of the
Covenant was a type (symbol) of Jesus Christ

e.g. Wooden box overlaid with
Gold – Jesus human and divine nature

Mercy seat – Rom.3:25 –
Jesus: God set forth us our mercy seat

Pot of Manna – Jn.6:32 –
Jesus: I am the bread of life

Tablets of Covenant –
Jn.1:14 – Jesus: the Word made flesh

Aaron’s rod – Rom.1:4 –
Jesus: Declared to be the Son of God by

Resurrection

·Ark was the meeting
place with God.

Meet =H3259= to meet at a stated time,
engage for mornings, make an appointment.

·Ark is the place of meeting
and experiencing God = presence and reality of God manifest.

3.Priests carried the Ark (Josh.3:6-17)

·1 Chron. 13:7-10 “They carried the ark of the Covenant on a
new cart” = Uzza died.

1
Chron.15:13-15 Proper order – the children of the Levites bore the ark of God
on their shoulders.

·“Shoulders” = this
is the responsibility of the priests to carry the ark – presence
of God.

·“Priests” = this was
a team effort, walking in unity with other priests.

·“New Cart” = there
is no substitute for doing this God’s way – protocol of heaven.

·As priests we are
called to carry the presence of God into the community.

·You can only carry
unto the world what you experience in private with God.

·God’s plan – a royal
priesthood offering up spiritual sacrifices – carrying his presence into the
community and making Christ known.

·This is more than
one person – it is a body of people in unity.

4.How can I experience the Presence of God

·Lev.16:11-14 Blood – incense – fire

·There were three
requirements of the priest to enter and experience an encounter
with God.

·(i) Blood shed:
Symbolic of the blood of Christ shed for us on the Cross.

·We come into the
presence of God by applying the blood to our sins and failures by faith.

·Sin separates us,
makes us insensitive to God. God’s remedy is to repent and confess
and believe that blood of Christ enables us free access without
condemnation.

(ii) v12 Hands full of incense:
Symbolic of thanksgiving and praise (Rev.8:4/Ps.100)

·We
come into God’s presence with thanksgiving and praise.

·Hands full = abundance of gratitude and praise – this is our
spiritual sacrifice.